Pry type cap lifter



Jan. 8, 1952 v P, PALMER 2,581,875

PRY TYPE CAP LIFTER 7 Filed May 3, 1946 F\G.Z FIG. 5

INVENTOR.

Phi/1, 1 Palmer Patented Jan. 8, 1952 ;A4UNIKTEDL ;STATES a rhili ralmr,Newr rieNJiz,

a Application May 3,1946,seri msgsssgsse I '1 Claim. .(Cl. 8i 1li3:.46

This invention relates especially adapted forread-ily and quicklyremoving; the: well-knpwn vacuum sealed metal tops from glass vacuumjars. Caps and jars of other materials can. also-be, operated-upon.Friction gripped caps can also, beremoyed iromcontainers provided theyare of a fit'andfforrn suitablefor the lifters. My lifter removes thecap with little effort and withoutdamage to the cap so that it can bereadily replaced.

Thelifter consists essentially of a handle and sh nfi the terese 91 theh n in. d dwi h as e ew .eeteh h sk; gives. 11. 5. t? Pren Te -wagesererelatirelr t ei base 'in' comparison to their height, so that theyoffer great resistance to bending-and distortion. The provision of thenotch enables the outer edge fthe shankftq. be. thrustunder e. apwithout ein bl ked b he 2 .ature o t e neck ofithe jar, the notchproviding space for the curve.

A line joining the apices of the prongs is substantially parallel to thelong axis of the handle. When the handle is turned about an axis midwaybetween the prongs and perpendicular to said long axis, great leverageis obtained for lifting the cap. When the lifter is inserted under thecap and the handle is turned, one prong bears down on the shoulder ofthe jar and the other prong pushes up on the cap. The lifting action ofthe prongs is assisted by having one or both prongs bent out of theplane of the surfaces of the shank. The prongs are so bent out from thehandle or shank that they are given a hook shape. When one or bothprongs are so hooked, the portion of the prong under the cap isprevented from being pushed out as the handle is turned for lifting thecap. In my preferred form both prongs are hooked, so that no matterwhich way the lifter is inserted under the cap, there is always a hookedprong in contact with the lower edge of the cap.

By having the side edges of the shank at the prongs extend substantiallyparallel to the aforementioned axis of rotation of the prongs whenlifting the cap, or by having said edges undercut or relieved the toolmay be rotated about said axis of rotation without a tendency for theshank to slip out from under the cap.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon further study ofthe description and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a form of cap lifter having a handle of wood,plastic or other suitable material.

Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1 looking along the to a cap lifter whichis;

2Q, 9 1g. o,t a -j;a.1; f .i;ea withihe prongs of the cap lifterinserted; under the cap, a portion of the handle of the lifter being 111 32271 or :rie.=.-1.showing-are Teams-w shank.

Fig. m asp anview; of-arform oii-cap liit n whip-2h the; handle'is of; seet material and; mtg-re gralwith. the shank. T-he: shank extends from;

the middle portionot magnets .Qf handles Fig. 5 is a plan view of a formof cap lifter We hin n le a: wo nlastie ori' h r is looped: backonIitslf and is inte ral. with the.

broken away.

Fig. 8 is a section taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7, the bottomportion of the jar being broken away, and

Fig. 9 is a section taken similarly to Fig. 8 except that the lifter hasbeen rotated effecting a partial removal of the cap.

The lifter of Figs. 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 is provided with a handle H] inwhich the tail portion M of shank H, is rigidly mounted. The outer edgeof shank II is provided with a shallow notch l5 which gives rise topointed prongs I2 and I3.

These prongs are generally in the form of a right angled triangle inwhich the apices are at or near the side edges it of the shank. Prong l2has one of its surfaces in the plane of and as a direct continuation ofone of the surfaces of shank II. The other surface of prong I2 is also adirect continuation of the other surface of shank H, except that itcurves inward to reduce the edge thickness of the prong for easyinsertion under cap I! of jar i8.

With prongs I2 and I3 inserted under cap II, handle in is turnedcounter-clockwise. The great leverage of handle I0 applied to saidprongs, prong l2 being in contact with shelf l9 of jar l8 and prong Bwhich is bent out into a hook from shank I I, being in contact with capll, readily lifts the cap off the jar as seen in Fig. 9. The shape ofthe hook is such that prong [3 can have a surface inserted under thelower edge of the cap with its outer end coming higher than said edgewhen the lifter is in position to lift the cap,

one; prong is inch'nedto the general plane. ofgthe fie-13E is has vieweat, mama. safe: but showing atmodifiied form; in. which :batlrrongsare-inclined to the eeneralplane or e ri mme ha k .emie fi e im g n ablematerial.

that is when prong l3 contacts said lower edge and prong I2 is presseddown against shelf I9 of jar I8,

Fig. 3 shows a modification of the lifter of Figs. 1 and 2 in which bothprongs 20 and 2|, while forming direct continuations of the surface ofthe shank are bent out of the plane of these surfaces into a hook, theinclination of prong 20 being opposite to the inclination of prong 2|.The shape of both prongs 20 and 2| is similar to that already describedfor prong I3. 5 The configuration of the surfaces of theprongscontacting the lower edge of the cap is such that lines can be drawn inthem 7 which are substantially perpendicular to the direction in whichthe prongs extend from the shank. The direction in which the prongsextend is toward the top of the sheet in Fig. 1. Fur-- ther, said linesare parallel to thesurfaces or general plane of shank I I. surface forcontacting the cap also of the above noted configuration.

",In Fig. 4, shank 22 is a direct continuation and integral with handle23. Prongs I2 and I3 are formed on the outer edge of shank 22, just thesame as they are formed on'the outer edge of shank I I, Figs. 1 and 2.Handle-23, shank 22 and prongs .I2and I3 are all one sheet metal piece.The edges of prongs I2 and I3 on their sides away from each other areundercut or relieved. The edges referred to are the left edge of prongI2 and the'right edge of-prong l3. The undercutting improvesthe hookingaction of the prongs under the cap:

- In Fig." 5, shank: 25 is set in a transverse elongated handle 24 orwood; plastic or other suit- Pronge I2'a'nd- I3 are the same asinFigs.1and2.- *1

In'Fign-G, handle'26 is' a direct continuation and integral with shank21, said handle being formed of a sheet metal strip which is looped backon itself. Prongs I12 and I3 are also the same as in-Fi'gs. 1 and 2.

Prong I3 of Fig. 2 has its having both its surfaces inclined to thesurfaces o'f'the other prong, at least one of said surfaces of eachprongbeing concave to enable the concave surface of one prong to be inserteunder the lower edge of the cap with the outer end of a prong soinserted higher than the lower dge of the cap while the other prongengages th radially extending portion of. the container, sai concavesurface of one prong facing substantially in the opposite direction andaway from said concave surface of the other prong.

PHILIP PALMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 478,615 Lindahl July 12, 18921,226,827 Tevander 'May 22, 1917 1,568,312 Becker Jan 5, 1926 1,963,007Week June 12, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country 7 Date 116,925Switzerland Oct. 1, 1926 781,941 France Mar. 4, 1935'

